Interview one with Shelly Bond
Notorious American comic-book editor best known for her work with DC Vertigo
Originally published 21 August 2020.
For this newsletter, I conducted possibly my most exciting interview to date, with American comic-book editor Shelly Bond! Known across the industry for her two-decade tenure at DC’s Vertigo imprint, which she joined as an Assistant Editor one month after it was formed and became Executive Editor and Vice President of from 2013 to 2016.
Shelly is an absolute legend who has worked on series including DOOM PATROL, 100 BULLETS, SANDMAN and HELLBLAZER, playing an integral part in defining American comics.
More recently, Shelly founded BLACK CROWN, the imprint that became home to series including PUNKS NOT DEAD, one of the comics that artist Martin Simmonds co-created (with David Barnett) after HERETICS. Which fits nicely with the topic of this newsletter!
1/ What piece of art, in any medium, has most inspired you throughout your life and why?
It’s safe to say that if I’ve made a fabric print pillow out of it or received it as a gift from my favorite artist (Philip Bond), it’s inspired me beyond belief.
Bowie in Berlin is fearless, epic. The Thin White Duke remains my favorite character in history with Michael Moorcock’s Jerry Cornelius a close second, but only because he/she wore Courregés.
Strummer is not only easy on the ear and eye, but he’s THE poet/mouthpiece/heart/soul frontman of a band/modern life. Sandinista! is 1980, today and the future. Wanna see and hear a band having fun creating art w/guitars? These six sides will teach you everything you need to know about existing in the modern world—or what it has become.
2/ As an editor, what do you look for in collaborators and how can you tell when you’ve found a project that you want to work on?
When you work in comics for over 30 years, you’d better be able to spot talent at 50 feet. But I want work with people who aren’t poseurs or sellouts. People that don’t need to be bugged to turn in the script or art agreed to do, or people who don’t complain about what the final story has become. If you don’t leave your ego at the door and accept the part of comics that’s collaborating—including the input from the editor—work solo. Or get another day job. The best art is organic and happens fast. It’s only for the fearless.
“No matter how hard you work, no one will ever fully appreciate (or sometimes even thank you for) your contribution to any medium. So get over yourself. Don’t do it for the glamour.” – Shelly Bond
As for a project I want to work on, I know it in an instant. It feels urgent and unlike anything else I’ve wiped my red ink/paw prints on. When I get pitches that are boring or worse, derivative, I just put together my own. See those crazy anthologies like HEY, AMATEUR!, The BLACK CROWN OMNIBUS and INSIDER ART: A Compendium of Comics, Crafts & Cats. And soon, my memoir/roman à clef, FILTH & GRAMMAR.
3/ What do you know now that you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?
That no matter how hard you work, no one will ever fully appreciate (or sometimes even thank you for) your contribution to any medium. So get over yourself. Don’t do it for the glamour. Do it because you love it and it makes you feel like you’ve made a positive dent in the mad world we’re living in. No one owes you anything. Stick with people who appreciate you and leave the assholes and amateurs in the dust.
4/ How much of a role does music play in the creative process for you?
Music is everything to me. But step away from my record collection! The comics I put my imprimatur on need to resonate as long and hard as my favorite tracks on scratched vinyl. The conceit behind the BLACK CROWN imprint (2017-2019) that my husband and I created for Chris Ryall at IDW was a testament to the music and comics connection. It was basically IDW’s indie record label and we loved every minute of curating/editing/assembling/designing every single one of those thousands of comic book pages. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself at blackcrown.pub.
Those 10 trades are everything to us and still represent the beauty of comics as sound and vision.
5/ If you woke tomorrow and were no longer constrained by time, budgets or even skills that you haven’t learned yet, what would you make?
In my dreams, Mick Jones would agree to work with me on the Graphic Novel History of The Clash and BAD. I’ve reached out to his management for years but haven’t had any luck. I’m also a huge Róisín Murphy/Moloko fan so that’s another graphic novel I’d jump through hoops of fire to edit/assemble. DFA Records/James MurphyLCD Soundsystem? SUEDE? ROXY MUSIC? I could go on... See my record collection!
To raise money for female & non-binary comic book retailers who need financial aid because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shelly Bond set in motion the creation of INSIDER ART, a digital comics anthology and a female and non-binary comic book retailer fund.
All-star contributors include Jill Thompson, Gail Simone, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Stephanie Hans, Lilah Sturges, Janet K. Lee, Trina Robbins, Myriam Bloom, Jessi Jordan, Amanda Gonzalez, Tini Howard, Chynna Clugston Flores, AJ Mendez, Aimee Garcia, Sam Maggs, Sweeney Boo (who helped me carry my comics at Thought Bubble last year when she found me spilling them all over the road!!!), Margaux Saltel, Vita Ayala and more.
You pay what you want to download the 200+ page anthology on Gumroad, with a suggested donation of $9.99. It’s an amazing collection of work for a cause that everybody in 2020 can empathise with, so go and buy a copy now!